Put the thing into perspective: It was a party, and the purpose of every party — and the purpose of every church, really — is to create a parallel universe governed by benevolence. At the best parties, no one is hungry or thirsty, strangers not only talk to strangers but embrace them and pump fists in tandem on the dance floor, and — for a few hours at least — everyone is delirious with the pleasure of forgetting their differences.

So that’s what it was like at the Masonic Wednesday night, Nov. 30. This particular euphoria was whipped up with ingredients most of us like to think are particularly San Franciscan — altruism, compassion, tolerance, acceptance — made even headier by the beat of music.

From the opening reception, the Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani, iconic in the Glide-osphere, were surrounded by well-wishers — among them many conservative-looking men in business suits — kissing them. “Accessible” is an understatement; there was no VIP section. “Despite everything else going on in the world,” said MC Renel Brooks-Moon, “we celebrate. ... We are Glide.”

The theme, Walk That Walk, was about taking action, reflected in the program. During World War II, Mirikitani’s family was sent to an internment camp by Executive Order 9066, she said. “Many of us are preparing in January to join the Million Women’s March. ... We will Walk That Walk to make sure that injustice never happens again.”

But the heart of the evening was performances, by the Glide Ensemble and the Change Band, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, dancer Antoine Hunter, singer Lara Johnston, Doobie Brothers founder Tom Johnston, Paula West (who sang “The Times They Are a-Changin’” at Williams’ request), Goapele, Sheila E. and Michael Franti.

Backstage, Franti said he’d been “going to Glide for 20 years, and every time I hear Cecil speak, I get the same feeling I had when I heard the speeches of Dr. King ... and in the last few months, of Barack Obama.”

Franti, who was raised in San Francisco, said he could remember “when (Williams) was running through the aisles like James Brown. Now he moves like Gandhi, and lifts us up like Gandhi.” From the stage later, he added, “He and Janice together were the ultimate Jay Z and Beyoncé ... before Jay Z and Beyoncé.”

By the time Franti sang “Good to Be Alive Today,” the crowd was on its feet, clapping, dancing, jumping, feeling exactly that way. When the formal program was over, Williams, in his wheelchair center stage, started singing, “Oh Freedom,” joined by the band, the choirs, the headliners and the whole audience. Obviously savoring this familiar church-like moment, when that was done, he launched into “Amen.” And after that, “Oh Happy Day.”

“There’s so much love here,” said Sheila E. “This is how it should be when you walk outside the door.”

A photograph of retiring Chronicle columnist C.W.Nevius went up at John’s Grill last week. That same day, he received a proclamation issued, along with one to National AIDS Memorial Grove “lifetime commitment” honoree Al Baum, by termed-out state Sen. Mark Leno on his last day in office. These last two were framed, indicating their most-favored-proclamation status.

In 18 years in office (San Francisco Board of Supes, state Assembly, state Senate), he says he’s issued something like 9,000 proclamations.

Department of Dismal Dysfunction: “Christmas is now just 25 days away,” said a press release, “and with the New Year quickly approaching, it’s the perfect time to reevaluate our professional lives. ... Frank can discuss ... how to revamp the everyday chart-filled presentation.”

That’s from Ted Frank, whose book, “Get to the Heart,” presents alternatives to charts, but despite its name, is not a primer on holiday romance.